CDC Responds to Hurricane Gustav
September 5, 2008
CDC is working with the Department of Health and Human Services and federal, state and local partners to respond to public health issues in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. State health departments in affected areas have also been assisting each other responding to and recovering from the storm.
- State and local agencies are working to restore infrastructure to affected areas. Priorities include restoring electricity and clean water, and repairing roads and buildings damaged by the storm.
- There are different levels of damages from the hurricane in each affected state. As damage assessments are completed, state and local authorities are making decisions about who can return home safely.
- Coastal southeastern states are also preparing for Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike, which may affect weather, health, and safety in that region in the next week.
CDC, as part of HHS, has 65 staff deployed to Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. These experts are providing public health and medical support to hurricane evacuees, especially those with special needs. CDC experts are also providing a range of assistance for affected areas, and monitoring state surveillance activities in local areas.
In addition, CDC is working closely with federal, state and local partners to distribute information about healthy recovery from the storm on topics such as injury prevention, carbon monoxide poisoning, and food and water safety.
Things You Should Know About Storm Recovery
Follow local advisories about the safety of your water supply.
- Use only bottled, boiled, or treated water for drinking, cooking, food preparation, and hand washing.
- Bring water to a rolling boil for 1 minute to kill harmful bacteria and parasites.
- If you cannot boil your water, add 1/8 tsp of household chlorine bleach, which should kill most organisms.
Food may be unsafe to eat during and after an emergency.
- Throw away food that may have come in contact with flood or storm water.
- Throw away perishable foods, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers, if they have been above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (F) for 2 hours or more.
- Add block ice or dry ice to your refrigerator if the electricity is expected to be off longer than 4 hours.
- Wear heavy gloves when handling ice and dry ice.
Avoid Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning after a disaster.
- Generators, grills, camp stoves, or other gasoline or charcoal-burning devices produce deadly CO gases.
- Always use these devices outdoors, far away from windows, doors and vents.
- Pressure washers and other gasoline powered tools also give off high levels of CO and should be used outdoors.
Previous Updates
More Information
For more information about how to stay safe before, during and after hurricanes, please visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/
- Page last updated September 5, 2008
- Content source: CDC Emergency Communication System (ECS), Division of Health Communication and Marketing (DHCM), National Center for Health Marketing (NCHM)
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